


Goodbye.

by Dirade



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ethan Nestor Egos, Gen, Mark Fischbach Egos, Unus Annus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:48:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27553330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dirade/pseuds/Dirade
Summary: It's time to say goodbye.
Relationships: Mark Fischbach & Ethan Nestor, Mark Fischbach/Ethan Nestor, Unus/Annus
Comments: 6
Kudos: 135





	1. Mark

**Author's Note:**

> The final Unus Annus fic. This was done quickly, but like all of Unus Annus, it was the best I could do at the time. And like all of Unus Annus, I only had so much time to do it. What a year this has been. I hope you enjoy this fic as much as I enjoyed this journey.

Mark remembers how it began. 

He was in a dark void, surrounded by nothing for as far as he could see. And then he saw himself. Except it wasn’t him. It had his face, it had his body, but something wasn’t quite right. It wore a crisp white suit, hands steepled together. When Mark looked a little closer, he saw that it had blank white eyes. 

When it spoke it had Mark’s voice, but something wasn’t quite right. The voice echoed and distorted. It drove into Mark’s chest and reverberated through his bones, his own voice but so much more. 

“Mark,” it said, the sound filling the endless empty space. 

“What are you?” Mark asked. 

Even though the thing didn’t move, Mark could feel its gaze focus on him, flaying his skin open until his beating heart was on display. 

“I have a proposition for you,” it said. “Give us one year.” 

“A year of what?” Mark took a step forward, but the figure wasn’t any closer. 

“One year. Our last year. And then it’s over.” 

“What is? What are you talking about?” Mark took another step, then another. He started running, but the figure was getting farther and farther away. 

“Momento mori,” the figure said, its voice beginning to fade. It grew smaller and smaller even as Mark pushed his body to keep up. “Unus Annus. One year.” 

It faded to a speck, a glimmer of white in an expanse of darkness. Mark flung out an arm, hand outstretched. “Wait! What do you mean?!” 

  
  


-

  
  


Mark’s eyes shot open to stare at the ceiling of his bedroom. His lungs ached. 

Amy peered at him, propped up on an elbow. “Mark…?” she murmured. 

“Unus Annus,” Mark said. He thought he could hear the ticking of a clock. “One year.” 

  
  


-

  
  


Mark remembers how it began. 

He invited Ethan for a walk and they talked and talked and talked. The idea came up organically. A self destructing channel. No limits. One year. 

That last part sounded familiar, but Mark couldn’t remember why. He didn’t remember until they turned the camera on to film their first video. 

  
  


-

  
  


Mark remembers how it began. 

One moment he was standing in front of a greenscreen in an old white suit, the next he was staring into the dark void from his dream. That conversation came rushing back to him. The ticking of a clock filled his ears. 

“Mark?” 

Mark turned to see a familiar figure stumbling toward him. “Ethan!” He ran toward his friend, scooping him up into a hug. He let himself cling tight for a few seconds longer, Ethan’s hands digging into his back. 

Ethan pulled away, staring up at Mark with wide, confused eyes. “I just remembered - I don’t know how I forgot - but I think I was here in a -” 

“Dream,” Mark finished. 

“Yeah, how did you -” 

The ticking grew louder. Mark turned toward the sound. Hovering in the darkness was a string of numbers: 

**365:00:00:00**

He and Ethan watched as the time ticked down. 

“Unus Annus,” Mark mumbled. 

Ethan swallowed. “One year.” 

  
  


-

  
  


That’s how it was for a while. They’d start filming and Ethan and Mark would be gone, back to that dark place, watching the clock count down. They’d come back to hours of footage, people who were so, so similar to them, but just slightly off. 

“What happens when it hits zero?” Ethan asked once, while they sat and stared at the numbers. 

“It ends,” Mark said. And that was that. 

Neither of them ever suggested that they stop filming, even though that was the only time Unus and Annus, as they came to be called, took over. They both knew what the deal had been. One year. One last year. 

Over time that dark void had lightened, thinned, until Ethan and Mark were watching out of their own eyes, backseat drivers to their own bodies. Over time, they started to be able to puppet some movements, influence actions, cajole Unus and Annus into inside jokes and references. Over time, it became a partnership. Sometimes Ethan or Mark was more in control, sometimes Unus or Annus were calling the shots. They divided their time. They learned to compromise. They learned to interact with each other, to read who was present at each moment. 

It wasn’t always as easy as talking to another being in your best friend’s body. Sometimes it was more subtle, a press in the consciousness, a gentle push, a whisper of an idea. They learned about each other, about the entities, about the ways in which they mirrored Mark and Ethan’s dynamic in a way that was almost frighteningly similar. 

  
  


-

  
  


Mark remembers how it began. And he won’t ever forget how it ends. 

It wasn’t until the final week that Unus and Annus asked again. Full control. Total autonomy for the last week. 

Mark and Ethan agreed. How could they refuse? 

They finished up Mark’s kidnapping video. They sent Amy and Evan home, promising that they’d come back together as soon as they finished cleaning up. They stood together in the foyer. Mark wanted to say something, but he didn’t know what. Unus and Annus’ presences had felt absent, silent, all night. Mark wanted to ask if Ethan was ready to be back in that void for a week. He wanted to ask if Unus had said anything while they were filming, if he’d been as distant as Annus. He wanted to know what was going on, know everything, prepare. 

But there isn’t enough time. 

The end is already here. 

He hears a familiar voice, one so like his own, scream his name. Mark whips around at the same moment that Ethan turns in the opposite direction. “Annus!” Mark yells, starting to run. 

He hears Ethan yell “Unus” and start in the other direction. 

Mark doesn’t turn back, just follows the pull of his gut toward the thing, the being, the man, the god, he’d grown closer and closer to in this year. His lungs burn as he takes the stairs two at a time. “Annus! Where are you?!” Memories flicker behind his eyelids as he blinks, a thousand thousand moments where he laughed at Annus’ jokes, was guided toward safety, congratulated him on another video going up. He remembers those nights at 4am, editing videos in the dark, Annus a soft voice in his mind telling him that he was almost done, that it would all be worth it. He remembered Annus reminding him to eat, to shower before Ethan arrived, running a hand through their hair and chuckling as he tied it into a ponytail. “Please, please, no -” Mark mutters, casting his flashlight into every inky crevice just in case white eyes glitter back at him. 

His walkie flickers to life. “It’s been quite a year, hasn’t it?” 

“Annus?” Mark asks, pausing. 

“And now it’s over.” 

“What are you talking about? We’ve got all year. We’ve got so much time. It’s a year! We have all the time in the world… right?” The beam of the flashlight shakes in Mark’s hand. 

“That is wrong. I’m afraid that’s very wrong.” Annus’ voice crackles from the walkie. 

“Please, just a little more time.” Mark’s chest goes tight, but he presses on. “We just need a little more time to make the channel everything that it could be.” 

“No, there are no second chances. There are no do-overs. You had your one year. And you did the best you could. That’s all we can really hope for.” 

“There’s still time, Annus, please, we can change this. You don’t have to leave. There’s so much we still have so much left to do.” Mark dashes forward, trying to find something, anything, but the darting glare of the flashlight doesn’t catch anything but his own frantic movements reflected in the mirror. 

“No, Mark. It’s almost time.” 

“Fucking bullshit!” Mark screams. His hand throbs and he realizes he hit the wall. “We’re not done yet. We just need a little more time, please, Annus.” All Mark can think about is the list of ideas that they haven’t done yet. All he can think about is all the good moments that won’t come, the laughs that will never be. All he can think about is the potential wasted. He didn’t do enough. There wasn’t enough time. He never has enough time and he’s not ready for it to be over. 

“It’s over,” Annus says, the sound echoing in the space, filling Mark’s head. “It’s finally time to accept the truth.” 

Mark rounds the corner and there is the coffin. They didn’t bring it, yet somehow Mark knew it would be here. Ethan enters the room from the other side. 

Mark walks toward the coffin, a blank calm filling him. He looks at Ethan, nods, and opens the lid. 

**“It’s time to say goodbye.”**


	2. Ethan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1:00:00:00

Ethan barely remembers how it began. 

He remembers it in the fuzziest of detail, like a dream he forgot and then remembered once again. He remembers coming to in darkness and hearing a voice that was almost familiar. 

“Ethan…” 

“Hello?” Ethan said. His voice was swallowed up by the space. 

“We have a proposition.” 

Ethan turned and saw himself, but something wasn’t quite right. It was him, but in a black suit, him with pitch black eyes. It was him, but wrong. 

“Who are you?” Ethan whispered. 

“Give us one year.” 

“For what?” Ethan asked. 

“One, last year.” 

  
  


-

  
  


Ethan barely remembers how it started. 

He barely remembers coming up with the idea, barely remembers getting ready to film the first video. 

What he does remember is coming back to that space. He remembers running to Mark, clinging to his friend. He remembers seeing the clock.

**365:00:00:00**

  
  


**-**

  
  


Ethan remembers letting Unus into his life, both on and off screen. He remembers being dragged out of bed by the voice in his head, being pestered to sleep and eat and shower when all he wanted to do was sleep through the rest of quarantine. He remembers being able to laugh and joke with people he could really call his friends. He remembers clinging to that sense of routine, to those moments where he could feel close to people again. He remembers his eyes filling with tears when he finally got to see Mark in person again, and he remembers his vision clouding white when Annus smiled through Mark’s face. 

Unus and Annus ask for control for their final week. Ethan and Mark agreed. How could they refuse? 

But it’s never that easy. 

Ethan and Mark stay behind and then Ethan hears that familiar voice call his name. “Unus!” Ethan screams, racing after the sound. Vaguely, he registers Mark running in the opposite direction, but he can’t think about that. All he can think about is that Unus needs him, Unus is in danger, something has gone wrong. They have so little time left. Not now, this can’t be happening now. 

“Unus! Where are you?!” Ethan yells. No one, nothing, answers. He runs and runs until he ends up in a bathroom. He takes a moment to splash some water on his face, to breathe, when the walkie crackles to life. “Mark?” 

He leaves the bathroom, starting to walk, drawn by an unseen force. 

“It’s been quite a year, hasn’t it? And now it’s over,” the walkie said. 

“Unus? What do you mean?” Ethan knows what it means, he knows, but he’s not ready. He’s not ready. 

“Time is almost up,” Unus’ voice says. 

“Please, we just need a little more time. Just a little more to make the channel what it really could be. This year was not what we planned for at all. It was all over the place and it was completely out of control. If we just have a little more time and we’re given one last shot, we can really-” 

“No, there are no second chances. There are no do-overs. You had your one year. And you did the best you could. That’s all we can really hope for.” 

“No, Unus, please. There’s still time. You don’t have to leave. We don’t have to do this. Please, we just want a little more time. Just a little more fucking time!” Ethan pleads. His eyes burn, but all he can think is that this wasn’t what he wanted. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. They wasted time, they didn’t follow through with plans. They  _ failed.  _

“No. Many have begged. Many have pleaded. None have succeeded.” Unus’ voice echoes through the space. 

“No, no, I’m not ready. I don’t want you to go, please.” Ethan curls up into an alcove in the wall, trying to control his breathing. “Everything will be deleted, everything will be gone and no one will remember. Please,” he hiccups. “I’m not ready for this to end.” 

“Oh, Ethan…” Unus says, soft now. 

Ethan bites back a sob. 

“It’s over,” Unus says. A strange calm fills Ethan’s body. “It’s finally time.” 

Ethan gets up and follows where his body leads him. He sees the coffin, then Mark. He knows what they have to do. 

He looks at Mark, nods, and opens the lid. 

**“It’s time to say goodbye.”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One hour left.   
> One chapter.  
> I will post it once the channel dies.


	3. Unus Annus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for everything. Goodbye.

The livestream is about to end. They’re about to delete the channel. 

Then, they’re back in that void. The ticking stops. 

**00:00:00:01**

It’s all four of them, together, for the first time ever. White and black tears drip from Unus and Annus’ blank eyes. Ethan and Mark wear suits that match their counterparts. 

“The clock…” Ethan murmurs. 

“Is not stopped,” Annus finishes. “But… for now, we can have this moment.” 

“We know this is hard for you,” Unus says. 

“Mark, your time isn’t up. Your potential hasn’t been reached. You have time. Use it wisely,” Annus says. 

“Ethan, you didn’t fail. You created something amazing. You made the most of your time. This isn’t the end of everything. I know how much this meant to you, but the important things will stay. You’ve lost so much, but you’re not losing this. You did well. You have so much more left to do,” Unus says, smiling even as tears slip down his cheeks. 

“But it’s time for us to go,” Annus says. 

“Thank you,” Unus murmurs. 

“Thank you,” Ethan repeats. 

“For this one year,” Mark finishes. 

Unus and Annus smile. 

The clock ticks once. 

**00:00:00:00**

And then they’re gone. No dust, no bright light. Just… gone. 

Mark and Ethan open their eyes to the livestream ending, the channel gone. 

Every memory, every moment when Unus or Annus had been in control, every second of their shared year returned to their minds. It was as if those people, those gods, had never been there at all. As if it had been Ethan and Mark all along. As if it was all a dream. 

  
  


-

  
  


**00:00:00:00**

Unus and Annus stand next to each other, staring at the final face of the clock. Their hands are linked, holding tight. 

“So this is it?” Unus asks. Annus doesn’t respond. “Did we do enough?” 

Annus turns to his oldest friend and smiles. “Yes.” Annus turns back to the clock. “Do you think they’ll remember us?” 

Unus squeezes Annus’ hand, a smile blooming on his face. “Yeah, they will.” 

Annus and Unus turn to face each other. Tears drip black and white down their faces, but they both smile at each other. 

“Are you ready to go, old friend?” Annus asks. 

“Yes. I am,” Unus replies. 

They embrace one last time. 

**Goodbye.**

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Memento mori. See you on the other side.   
> 00:00:00:00

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to everyone who was here while it lasted.  
> Momento Mori.


End file.
